Books I Like
A running list of books worth your time.
1984
George Orwell
Living in China doesn't seem so bad after reading this.
Midnight in Peking
Paul French
A girl's death, a city in turmoil — true crime done right.
Dune Messiah
Frank Herbert
Sequels are hard if the first one sets the bar.
Dune
Frank Herbert
Less a novel and more like a whole new world.
The Outsider
Albert Camus
If you can't handle heat, don't go to the beach.
Sapiens
Yuval Noah Harari
If you love getting lost in Wikipedia, you'll love this.
A Scanner Darkly
Philip K. Dick
Drugs plus California in the 90s never seemed more appealing.
South of the Border, West of the Sun
Haruki Murakami
Hope, regret, what if — is love really real?
Fatherland
Robert Harris
A riveting alternative history with an über amount of German.
The Chrysalids
John Wyndham
Learning to accept yourself is easier when thought than said.
We
Yevgeny Zamyatin
There's a good reason mathematicians don't often keep journals.
Brave New World
Aldous Huxley
Genetically modifying babies seems like the inevitable direction we're going.
Animal Farm
George Orwell
If dystopian novels are too complicated, just use animal metaphors.
The Trial
Franz Kafka
You think the DMV is bad? Bureaucracy at its finest.
Empire of Dragons
Valerio Massimo Manfredi
A rugged Roman gladiator road-trip with a Chinese twist.
Norwegian Wood
Haruki Murakami
There is never a right time to fall in love.
The Elementary Particles
Michel Houellebecq
A unique blend of life, love, and destroying human reproduction.
Kafka on the Shore
Haruki Murakami
Finding yourself in this world is difficult, yet entirely possible.
The Metamorphosis & Other Short Stories
Franz Kafka
If you turn into a bug, watch out for apples.
The Dog Stars
Peter Heller
Guns, a dog, and a Cessna — post-apocalyptic survival pack.
The Wall
John Lanchester
From the wall, to the sea, a cold dystopian adventure.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Philip K. Dick
If you have it, does it matter if it's real?
The Plague
Albert Camus
Rats die, plague comes, existential crisis sets in, plague vanishes.
Bangkok 8
John Burdett
In Bangkok's underbelly, everything seems to relate back to Buddha.
Timbuktu
Paul Auster
No matter the circumstances, all dogs deserve a good life.
The Crying Machine
Greg Chivers
In the future, are demons just malicious lines of code?
Slaughterhouse-Five
Kurt Vonnegut
He has a habit of repeating himself. So it goes.
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage
Haruki Murakami
If your friends abandon you, confront that shit right away.
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
Alexander Solzhenitsyn
It's the small things that get you through the day.
A Wild Sheep Chase
Haruki Murakami
If you see a photo of sheep, turn and run.
A Thousand Splendid Suns
Khaled Hosseini
A linguistic, cultural, and educational journey through beautifully complex Afghanistan.
Rendezvous with Rama
Arthur C. Clarke
A story of aliens, space, and adventure, featuring no aliens.
The Gilt Kid
James Curtis
Even native English speakers might struggle to read this book.
Blood Meridian
Cormac McCarthy
An epic and biblical tale of fucking, fighting, and fleeing.
Old Man's War
John Scalzi
Old minds + young bodies = the battle to colonize outer space.
Money: A Suicide Note
Martin Amis
Fucking, fighting, drinking, smoking, swearing — all in a day's work.
Mr. Vertigo
Paul Auster
Like if Icarus had hit puberty, and then couldn't fly.
Anthem
Ayn Rand
Pronouns can get confusing, but it has a solid message.
Sputnik Sweetheart
Haruki Murakami
If a girl disappears, you might not get any closure.
The Sound of Waves
Yukio Mishima
Japanese love on a fishing island never seemed so interesting.
A Little Life
Hanya Yanagihara
People may come and go, but friendships last a lifetime.
Pastoralia
George Saunders
Deeper into the madness, and then it just ends.
Killing Commendatore
Haruki Murakami
If you paint a portrait, shit might hit the fan.
Fictions
Jose Luis Borges
If you feel in over your head, join the club.
Childhood's End
Arthur C. Clarke
If your kid has weird dreams, Earth will likely end.
1Q84
Haruki Murakami
One shouldn't ghostwrite in a world that has two moons.
Normal People
Sally Rooney
A boring tale of young Irish love and its challenges.
Junk
Melvin Burgess
Burgess does not shy away from the harsh realities of addiction and its consequences.
Blood Work
Michael Connelly
Not just a whodunit; a deep dive into redemption and the human psyche.
Feed
M.T. Anderson
A brain implant grants constant access to everything; critical thought has atrophied.
First Person Singular
Haruki Murakami
Each tale blurs the line between fiction and personal experience.
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World
Haruki Murakami
Two distinct storylines gradually reveal mysterious connections throughout.
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
Haruki Murakami
Surreal and psychedelic in a way that defies easy description.
The Broker
John Grisham
Grisham makes procedural storytelling feel tense and urgent.
Timeline
Michael Crichton
Medieval time travel meets corporate greed—science bends, history breaks.
The Godfather of Kathmandu
John Burdett
A visceral experience of Kathmandu's sights, sounds, and smells.
Bangkok Tattoo
John Burdett
A high-octane thriller set in Bangkok's sex trade district.
Never Let Me Go
Kazuo Ishiguro
Blends the mundane with the extraordinary in a quietly haunting way.
The Elegant Lie
Sam Eastland
Sharp prose painting a vivid picture of a city rebuilding amidst war's rubble.
Look Who's Back
Timur Vermes
Hitler isn't presented as a comical monster or a clown.
Revenger
Alastair Reynolds
A coming-of-age story wrapped in a gritty, gripping space-pirate epic.
The King of Torts
John Grisham
Raises questions about the cost of success and ethical compromise.
Outliers
Malcolm Gladwell
Success is less about talent and more about opportunity and timing.
Prey
Michael Crichton
He must use his AI knowledge to outsmart the swarm and save his family.
Fugitive Pieces
Anne Michaels
A Jewish boy orphaned during war is rescued by a Greek geologist.
The Bangkok Asset
John Burdett
Takes Sonchai, and readers, where they haven't been before.
A Thousand Years of Rain
Michael Lipinski
A vivid portrayal of Thailand's rich culture and complex societal norms.
Later
Stephen King
If you can see the dead, maybe don't tell people.
A Treachery of Spies
Manda Scott
You never know who to trust, even if they're old.
Atomic Habits
James Clear
Small habits compound into transformative, identity-based personal growth.
Bangkok Haunts
John Burdett
Even amid the sex trade, demons, spirits, and ghosts exist.
Men Without Women
Haruki Murakami
Elegantly spare prose conveying deep emotional undercurrents.
Never Split the Difference
Chris Voss
Voss challenges the notion that splitting the difference is acceptable.
Talking to Strangers
Malcolm Gladwell
It's very difficult to tell when people are lying.
Vulture Peak
John Burdett
Plunges readers into Bangkok's criminal underworld of organ trafficking.
The Two Minute Rule
Robert Crais
A man burdened by past mistakes, driven to make things right.
Artemis
Andy Weir
On the moon: smuggling meets engineering failures meets everything trying to kill you.